The lesser-known famous deaths of late December 2011

The past week saw the death of three very different famous figures: North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il; Czech playwright and president, Vaclav Havel and Cesaria Evora, a musical sensation from the Cape Verde Islands known as the Barefoot Diva, because she never performed in shoes.

Of course, many less well-known famous people died as well. Among them was a New Zealand drag queen, an early Soviet rocket scientist, a Japanese professional wrestler, an American rapper, and a legendary British serial killer:

Umanosuke Ueda, a Japanese professional wrestler – Ueda was famous for his bleached blond hair and handlebar mustache. He was born Yuji Ueda but changed his name to Umanosuke, inspired by a famous late Shogunate Period samurai of the same name. Ueda fought in the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance through the 1960s. From June 11, 1976, to July 28, 1976, he was the International Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion. During the 1980s, he appeared as a henchman on a cult Japanese television show called Takeshi’s Castle, about a count who owns a castle and sets up impossible challenges for players to get to him. Ueda died of respiratory failure on December 21, 2011.

Donald Neilson, British serial killer – Neilson was born Donald Nappey but changed the family name after his daughter was repeatedly bullied at school because her last name sounded like the word nappy. He worked as a builder but turned to crime when his business failed, committing house burglaries by the hundreds. He went by a variety of nicknames, including The Phantom and Handy Andy, but the most popular was The Black Panther. By the 1970s, he was robbing small post offices, and in 1974, he committed his first murders, shooting dead two sub-postmasters and the husband of a sub-postmistress. He became the most wanted man in Britain. In 1975, he kidnapped the heiress of a large bus transport company fortune and demanded a 50,000-pound ransom. Due to a series of police bungles, he never got the money. The girl was later found hanging from a wire at the bottom of a drainage shaft. Neilson was finally arrested in 1975, convicted of murder, and sent to prison to serve five consecutive life sentences. He died on December 18, 2011, after suffering from breathing difficulties.

Other Great Reads: Famous death row last words and the weird art they inspired

Slim Dunkin, American Rapper – Slim was a rising star in the Atlanta rap group 1017 Brick Squad, which is led by rappers Waka Flocka Flame and Gucci Mane. He was featured on several tracks by Waka Flocka and had recently released a 20-song mixtape that featured Gucci Mane and Roscoe Dash. Last Friday, December 16th, Slim was preparing to record a video in the studio when an argument broke out. The man he was arguing with produced a handgun and shot Slim in the chest. Waka Flocka Flame and Gucci Mane are covering funeral expenses, an elaborate ceremony that will include a white horse-drawn carriage, massive white floral arrangements and a white dove release ceremony.

Other Great Reads: The etiquette of funeral flowers

Carmen Rupe, New Zealand drag queen – Rupe was a drag queen, brothel owner, wannabe politician and cultural identity. She was born in 1935 as Trevor Rupe, into a family of 13 children on a Taumarunui farm. Trevor trained as a nurse in Auckland and Wellington then moved to Sydney’s notorious Kings Cross district in the late 1950s. Here, he became a she, taking the name Carmen and becoming Australia’s first ever Maori drag performer. She got a breast job, worked as a prostitute and danced with snakes. She spent many nights in prison. In 1968, she returned to New Zealand and opened up her famous, Carmen’s International Coffee Lounge, which doubled as a gay brothel. The lounge had red walls, purple carpets and drag queen and transgender workers. Rupe ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1977, promising the legalization of gay marriage and brothels. Just three years ago she appeared on a motorized scooter at Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, completely topless. She died on December 15, 2011, at the age of 75.

Boris Chertok, Soviet rocket designer – Chertok worked on the control systems for the world’s first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. He was born March 1, 1912, in Lodz, Poland, and moved to Moscow where he was trained as an engineer. His first work involved developing electronics for Soviet polar expeditions. In 1940, he began work on ignition and control systems for one of the world’s first rocket planes, known as the Bereznyak-Isayev-1. He also worked on the control systems of the first manned spacecraft, the Vostok. He wrote the definitive history of the Soviet space program, a four-volume book entitled, Rockets and People. Chertok died on December 12, 2011, at the age of 99.